Kiri vs Vagaro
Vagaro is an all-in-one salon suite from $30 a month for one calendar (a $23.99 promo for the first six months), with $10 per extra calendar and paid add-ons for a website, forms and text marketing. Kiri is a free listing that brings clients and booking requests, with no commission and no add-ons. They solve different problems and run comfortably side by side.
The facts, in one table.
| Kiri | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 to list, with no subscription. A full booking system is planned as an opt-in add-on at $20 a month plus $10 per staff member; the free listing stays either way. | $30 a month for one calendar, with a $23.99 promotional rate for the first six months. Extra calendars $10 each up to seven, then additional staff free. No multi-location fee. 30-day trial, no free tier. |
| Fees on bookings | None. No commission on bookings and no fee for new clients. | None. Vagaro does not charge a commission on clients from its marketplace. |
| Contract | None. No card on file; leave whenever you like. | Monthly; Vagaro states cancel anytime with no cancellation fees. |
| Online booking | Booking requests: the client picks a service, stylist and time, and you accept or decline in Kiri Studio. | Instant self-booking with deposits, no-show fees, forms and memberships, plus a consumer marketplace app. |
| How clients find you | Every portfolio photo becomes a style page people find by searching the cut. Salon pages are marked up for Google and AI search, and listed in Kiri city guides for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco so far. | Vagaro marketplace app and web search, no commission on clients it brings. |
| Website or profile page | A salon page with menu and prices, team, portfolio, hours, reviews and HairSalon structured data, at kiri-me.com/stylists/your-salon. | MySite website builder is a paid add-on (third-party guides quote about $20 a month; not published on Vagaro’s pricing page). |
| Payments and POS | Not handled. You keep collecting payment in the salon. | Integrated point-of-sale and card readers through Vagaro Merchant Services, plus payroll and inventory add-ons. |
| Text reminders | Not yet. Text reminders are part of the planned booking system. | Appointment reminder texts included; text marketing is a paid add-on. |
| Setup | Done by the Kiri team from your Instagram, website or Google listing. You review before it goes live. | Self-serve, with a 30-day trial to build it out. |
Where Vagaro wins
- A genuine all-in-one: calendar, payments, forms, memberships, payroll and inventory under one login.
- Instant self-booking with deposits and no-show protection.
- Text reminders included.
- A consumer marketplace with no commission on the clients it sends.
Where Kiri wins
- $0 with no calendar licenses and no add-on menu.
- Clients find you by the hairstyle they want, from search and AI answers, not only from inside an app.
- The Kiri team builds the page for you.
- Nothing to cancel, no reader to return.
You can run both.
Kiri is not a point-of-sale and does not try to be one. Vagaro runs the salon; Kiri is a free front door. Keep the Vagaro calendar and payments, add the Kiri page to your bio and Google listing, and copy accepted Kiri requests into Vagaro the way you would a walk-in.
Vagaro fits best
When you want one paid suite for everything, from payroll to memberships, and are happy to pay for the add-ons you use.
Kiri fits best
Solo stylists, small teams and salons of any size that want new clients to find them by the work they do, a page built to rank for their name and area, and booking requests without paying a platform for the privilege.
Asked before switching.
- Does Vagaro have a free plan?
- No. As of November 2026 the lowest published price is $30 a month for one calendar, with a $23.99 promotional rate for the first six months and a 30-day trial.
- Does Vagaro take a cut of bookings?
- Vagaro does not charge a marketplace commission. You pay the subscription and any add-ons. Kiri charges nothing on bookings either; its listing is free.
- Is Kiri a replacement for Vagaro?
- No. Kiri does not process payments, run payroll or send text reminders today. It is a free listing that brings clients and booking requests, and it works beside Vagaro.
Sources
- Vagaro pricing page
- Koalendar guide to Vagaro pricing (add-ons, October 2026, third party)
- G2 reviews of Vagaro (billing complaints)
Vagaro prices and terms are theirs and change. We quote their public pages as of November 9, 2026; check the current page before deciding. Kiri is not affiliated with Vagaro.
Keep Vagaro. Add Kiri.
Send us the form today. We build your page, you check it, and booking requests start coming in beside whatever you already run.